Good Morning everyone,
Today I'll be interviewing Author Des Birch. He writes young adult novels for children. What a great gift to give a child instead of a game or phone because to me a book expands their mind, their imagination. So today we're going to give you some great information for your next purchase of these great YA books for your child, or a niece or nephew, or it could be for yourself.
So let's get started.
Here is one of the title covers.
I have always written. At school, English was my favorite
subject. When my children were young, I
wrote short stories for their entertainment.
Writing books was a natural progression.
2. Tell
me about your journey as an author… where did it start?
I wrote my first book, the
Diary of an Innocent, while I was living in Spain. It took me about eight months to write, but
it had been in my mind for the usual two years before that. When I moved back to England, I decided that
I preferred to write for young minds.
that was when I wrote The Redemption.
the dark waters series began after that, but not before a book on my
mental list (which hadn't been waiting in line for the customary two years),
bullied its way to the front, demanding to be written. Lamia is far removed from YA literature, and
that is why I published it under the nom-de-plume Juliandes. I have now written two books in the Dark
Waters series and I am working on the third.
3. Are
you a “plotter” or do you fly by the seat of your pants?
Most books have to serve
their time in my mental queue, before they get written. During this period, I must know the story
completely, including the beginning, the end and at least one major highlight. Then it is a battle, after which each book
explains to me why I should write it. I
then choose the winner. The story is
already there. I never fly by the seat
of my pants.
4. Where
do you get your inspiration from?
I get my inspiration from
the natural world and the unnatural people I encounter in my everyday life.
5. What’s
been the greatest challenge in being a writer and becoming published? What
lessons would you share with new writers?
I don't know if this will
help other writers, but I believe that it helped me enormously. It can be very difficult at first, to concentrate
on writing quality, storyline/flow, structure and where you last saw a
character. Whilst writing The
redemption, I actually lost one of the girls and I had to go back many pages,
to find where I left her. When I was
young, I used to read a lot of Hammer horror short stories. I would read a story, wait a few days and
then re-write the story. It already had
structure and storyline, so I could just concentrate on the writing
quality. Eventually I became used to
structure and could plan a story it myself.
I have now extended it to my books.
6. What
you working on at the moment?
I am currently
working on the third book in the Dark Waters series. This takes the hero from the first book and
grows him up. Instead of quests in the
Quinling world, his quests are now real as young readers are given a glimpse
into the life of an adult. It tackles
things like relationships with parents, love, marriage, raising children, the
death of a loved one and finally his own demise. It is the most difficult book I have ever
worked on.
7 7. What
should readers expect from your books?
It is my job as an author,
to entertain. A reader should expect to
become immersed in the story and want to turn the page to find out what happens
next. If a reader does not feel inclined
to finish one of my books, the reader hasn't failed; I have.
8. What’s
on your bookshelf? Do you have favorite authors?
I am a non-fiction fan and
a shark/natural world lover. My bookcase
is full of these books with odd pieces of psychology and history thrown
in. I hold a BSc (Hons) open, mainly in
science, so my bottom shelf is full of old course books.
9. And of
your own books, which is your favorite?
Oh, don't make me
choose. It might upset the others. I guess any of the Dark Waters series would do.
10.If you could
write in any other genre than your own, what would it be?
Psychological
thrillers. I like to play with people's
minds.
You can find Des Birch through these social media:
Blog http://desbirch.blogspot.co.uk/
Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Sharklet
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Des- Birch/e/B004PHLYFO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1472236632&sr=8-1
Twitter @AuthorDes
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/des-birch- 33494598?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Pinterest https://uk.pinterest.com/desbirch/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Author-Des-118110241600887/
Twitter https://twitter.com/AuthorDes
Book Titles:
The Redemption
The Diary Of An Innocent
Different eyes
Beyond Dark Waters
Above and Beyond
Dark Waters
“Buy Links”
https://www.amazon.com/Des-Birch/e/B004PHLYFO/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Des-Birch/e/B004PHLYFO/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1472295636&sr=8-1
Have you attached copies of your book
covers and/or author photo?
If not, are you happy for me to use images
from your social media feed, website or author page?
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